Torn ACL for Leon Powe.
The injuries to the frontcourt are becoming a huge problem. You may have heard that Kevin Garnett is out for the playoffs. And Brian Scalabrine still hasn't recovered from post-concussion syndrome. Losing Powe leaves Boston with three post players - Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and Mikki Moore. All three are extremely foul prone.
I still think Boston can beat Chicago with that group, because the Bulls just don't use their bigs very often. Orlando, of course, would be a different story.
Showing posts with label Leon Powe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leon Powe. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Boston 118, Chicago 115
I'll admit, a little shamefully, that whiile I wasn't ready to give up, I was feeling pretty despondent at halftime of tonight's game.
[recap] [box score]
Boston was only down three, but consider what the Celtics had already lost: Kevin Garnett to a knee injury suffered before the playoffs; home court advantage in the series with Chicago in Game 1; Leon Powe to a knee injury early in the second quarter; and Rajon Rondo for the final five minutes of the first half, to an ankle injury that looked pretty bad. Ray Allen still hadn't broken out of his slump, Boston's already paper-thin front line had been reduced by one, and Rondo, the team's best offensive player through three halves of playoff basketball, wasn't sure to return.
But over the next 24 minutes, in stops and starts, the Celtics showed that if they weren't the same team that won the NBA title last year, they were still the defending champs -- defending champs that weren't going to go down without a fight. Allen caught fire, scoring 28 of his 30 points in the second half, including the game-winning three-pointer with two seconds left. Rondo gamely hobbled around on his bad wheel, a shadow of the player he was in the first quarter (when he helped send both Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich to the bench with foul trouble), finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 16 assists, and five steals. Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins contributed huge games of 26/9 and 16/12, respectively. And so, despite giving up 42 points to Ben Gordon and having 14 shots blocked on the other end, Boston pulled out a crucial victory.
Where the team goes from here is still up in the air. There's no word yet on Powe, but TNT reporter (and former RwH sports journalism professor) David Aldridge hinted from the sideline that it could be more than just a one-night thing. And while Rondo seemed to gain mobility as the second half wore on, that's not all that uncommon with ankle injuries. It's often easier to play on a sprained ankle the night you sprain it than it is a day or two later, when you've cooled down and it's had time to swell up.
Losing Powe would be a blow to an already thin frontline, but losing Rondo would be the death knell. He's been the team's best player in the first two games of the series, by a fairly wide margin.
A few tactical notes:
-Boston did a much better job of containing Rose tonight on the pick and roll. Rose is a bit easier to stop on this play than he will be a bit later in his career, for two reasons: 1) he'll probably develop a more consistent jumper; and 2) he's still kind of a reluctant scorer, which he'll presumably grow out of. He's not quite as bad as Rondo was his first couple of years, but he still wants to defer to his teammates. So the man hedging the pick and roll needn't necessarily "sell out" the way he might against a player who looks for his own shot. A quick show is often enough to spook Rose into picking up his dribble, or slow down just long enough for his defender to recover. The day will come when this won't work. Hopefully that day is sometime after this series.
-Fourteen blocked shots for Chicago, and 21 offensive rebounds for Boston. These statistics are related. The Bulls' young bigs, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas, are so eager to register the highlight-reel rejection that they vacate their posts recklessly. Any shot they don't get has a great chance of being rebounded by Celtics on the weak side.
-Allen had a very tough time guarding Gordon, evoking memories of similar struggles checking Joe Johnson during last year's first-round series with Atlanta. While Gordon is a terrifyingly streaky shooter, in the mold of Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson, his heating up isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's better, I think, than having Rose play the way he did in Game 1, for the simple reason that Gordon has never met a shot he didn't like, and no matter how hot he is, he can't hit everything. The shot he made to tie the game at 115 came over Allen and Davis, who had committed to the double and left a man open. It was a very tough shot, one Gordon should get all the credit for making, but it's also one I don't think Boston minds him taking.
-Tonight marked the second time in as many games that Bulls had the ball with under three seconds left needing a basket to either tie or win and didn't have a timeout to advance the ball to halfcourt. Rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro has come a long way in his first season on the bench, but in the NBA, unlike college, timeouts have a practical purpose other than resting players or drawing up plays. I'd be surprised if he gets caught without one in his back pocket again.
Game 3 is Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
[recap] [box score]
Boston was only down three, but consider what the Celtics had already lost: Kevin Garnett to a knee injury suffered before the playoffs; home court advantage in the series with Chicago in Game 1; Leon Powe to a knee injury early in the second quarter; and Rajon Rondo for the final five minutes of the first half, to an ankle injury that looked pretty bad. Ray Allen still hadn't broken out of his slump, Boston's already paper-thin front line had been reduced by one, and Rondo, the team's best offensive player through three halves of playoff basketball, wasn't sure to return.
But over the next 24 minutes, in stops and starts, the Celtics showed that if they weren't the same team that won the NBA title last year, they were still the defending champs -- defending champs that weren't going to go down without a fight. Allen caught fire, scoring 28 of his 30 points in the second half, including the game-winning three-pointer with two seconds left. Rondo gamely hobbled around on his bad wheel, a shadow of the player he was in the first quarter (when he helped send both Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich to the bench with foul trouble), finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 16 assists, and five steals. Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins contributed huge games of 26/9 and 16/12, respectively. And so, despite giving up 42 points to Ben Gordon and having 14 shots blocked on the other end, Boston pulled out a crucial victory.
Where the team goes from here is still up in the air. There's no word yet on Powe, but TNT reporter (and former RwH sports journalism professor) David Aldridge hinted from the sideline that it could be more than just a one-night thing. And while Rondo seemed to gain mobility as the second half wore on, that's not all that uncommon with ankle injuries. It's often easier to play on a sprained ankle the night you sprain it than it is a day or two later, when you've cooled down and it's had time to swell up.
Losing Powe would be a blow to an already thin frontline, but losing Rondo would be the death knell. He's been the team's best player in the first two games of the series, by a fairly wide margin.
A few tactical notes:
-Boston did a much better job of containing Rose tonight on the pick and roll. Rose is a bit easier to stop on this play than he will be a bit later in his career, for two reasons: 1) he'll probably develop a more consistent jumper; and 2) he's still kind of a reluctant scorer, which he'll presumably grow out of. He's not quite as bad as Rondo was his first couple of years, but he still wants to defer to his teammates. So the man hedging the pick and roll needn't necessarily "sell out" the way he might against a player who looks for his own shot. A quick show is often enough to spook Rose into picking up his dribble, or slow down just long enough for his defender to recover. The day will come when this won't work. Hopefully that day is sometime after this series.
-Fourteen blocked shots for Chicago, and 21 offensive rebounds for Boston. These statistics are related. The Bulls' young bigs, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas, are so eager to register the highlight-reel rejection that they vacate their posts recklessly. Any shot they don't get has a great chance of being rebounded by Celtics on the weak side.
-Allen had a very tough time guarding Gordon, evoking memories of similar struggles checking Joe Johnson during last year's first-round series with Atlanta. While Gordon is a terrifyingly streaky shooter, in the mold of Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson, his heating up isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's better, I think, than having Rose play the way he did in Game 1, for the simple reason that Gordon has never met a shot he didn't like, and no matter how hot he is, he can't hit everything. The shot he made to tie the game at 115 came over Allen and Davis, who had committed to the double and left a man open. It was a very tough shot, one Gordon should get all the credit for making, but it's also one I don't think Boston minds him taking.
-Tonight marked the second time in as many games that Bulls had the ball with under three seconds left needing a basket to either tie or win and didn't have a timeout to advance the ball to halfcourt. Rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro has come a long way in his first season on the bench, but in the NBA, unlike college, timeouts have a practical purpose other than resting players or drawing up plays. I'd be surprised if he gets caught without one in his back pocket again.
Game 3 is Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Boston 100, Philadelphia 98
[recap] [box score]
Last time I posted, I gave a couple of reasons why I'd rather play Chicago than Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs: Philly's playoff experience, and Chicago's lack of defense. Watching tonight's win over the Sixers, I thought of three more:
1. I hate the Sixers. Reggie Evans is one of my two or three least favorite NBA players, and rookie Marreese Speights seems to be following in his footsteps as a first-rate punk. Throw in Philadelphia sports fans, as a group the most obnoxious of any city, and there's not a whole lot to like. Any loss to them is liable to ruin my evening.
2. I want to watch Derrick Rose. I'm in law school, and final exams are coming up, and I only have time to watch the Celtics' playoff games, at least until exams are over. Watching Rose over a best-of-seven series would be great. But I'm not going to get that chance, at least not this year, because...
3. ...Chicago can't beat Orlando in a playoff series. Philly can, but Chicago can't. Although Orlando doesn't scare me too much, it'd be nice to not have to worry about them.
I probably won't get my wish, however, because tonight's win means that Chicago only has to beat Toronto Wednesday night in order to get the #6 seed. (A Philly loss at Cleveland would similarly do the trick).
On the other hand, I shouldn't be too disappointed, because the Celtics just beat the Sixers despite not having Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen. The only active member of the so-called Big Three, Paul Pierce, certainly led this victory, with 31 points in 31 minutes, but he didn't do it on his own. He got plenty of help, including ten points and four rebounds from Leon Powe in his return after missing 12 games with an injury. Tony Allen took over for Ray Allen and scored 18 points, and Glen Davis continued a recent stretch of big statistical games.
Final game of the regular season in Wednesday night, against Washington.
Last time I posted, I gave a couple of reasons why I'd rather play Chicago than Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs: Philly's playoff experience, and Chicago's lack of defense. Watching tonight's win over the Sixers, I thought of three more:
1. I hate the Sixers. Reggie Evans is one of my two or three least favorite NBA players, and rookie Marreese Speights seems to be following in his footsteps as a first-rate punk. Throw in Philadelphia sports fans, as a group the most obnoxious of any city, and there's not a whole lot to like. Any loss to them is liable to ruin my evening.
2. I want to watch Derrick Rose. I'm in law school, and final exams are coming up, and I only have time to watch the Celtics' playoff games, at least until exams are over. Watching Rose over a best-of-seven series would be great. But I'm not going to get that chance, at least not this year, because...
3. ...Chicago can't beat Orlando in a playoff series. Philly can, but Chicago can't. Although Orlando doesn't scare me too much, it'd be nice to not have to worry about them.
I probably won't get my wish, however, because tonight's win means that Chicago only has to beat Toronto Wednesday night in order to get the #6 seed. (A Philly loss at Cleveland would similarly do the trick).
On the other hand, I shouldn't be too disappointed, because the Celtics just beat the Sixers despite not having Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen. The only active member of the so-called Big Three, Paul Pierce, certainly led this victory, with 31 points in 31 minutes, but he didn't do it on his own. He got plenty of help, including ten points and four rebounds from Leon Powe in his return after missing 12 games with an injury. Tony Allen took over for Ray Allen and scored 18 points, and Glen Davis continued a recent stretch of big statistical games.
Final game of the regular season in Wednesday night, against Washington.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Celtics Win Fourth Straight
Things are looking up since the last time I posted, though I haven't seen much of the team lately.
It didn't start that way. Tuesday night, we apparently played a terrible defensive game and gave up 127 points to Chicago. (I missed this one, as I was enjoying sublime food and company at Delmonico steakhouse in the Venetian -- highly recommended, and if you don't get the banana cream pie for dessert, you are cheating yourself.)
On Wednesday, we needed overtime to beat the Heat without Dwyane Wade - but we were still missing Kevin Garnett, as well as Ray Allen (who missed only that game with a hyperextended elbow suffered the previous night against Chicago) and Leon Powe (who will miss a couple of weeks due to a knee injury also suffered against the Bulls), as well as Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine (out indefinitely with a thumb injury and post-concussion syndrom, respectively). I caught only the fourth quarter and overtime of this one, at a bar at Treasure Island.
On Friday, we stole one from San Antonio, the second-best team in the Western Conference at the time, when the Spurs choked from the free throw line down the stretch. I didn't see this one, as it was on NBATV.
Saturday night, we beat the hapless Memphis Grizzlies behind a career-high 24 points from Glen Davis, standing in for Powe. Ironically, it was just a couple of weeks ago that Powe, his minutes increased due to injuries to Garnett and Davis, notched a career-high 30 points against the same Memphis squad. This one was also on NBATV.
And Monday night, we avenged an embarassing loss last month by pasting the Los Angeles Clippers. I caught this one on TV. The Clippers are terrible, and so are their announcers.
The four-game winning streak is important, as it has kept the Celtics a game ahead of the Orlando Magic for the second spot in the East, with an all-important showdown between the two teams coming up on Wednesday night in Florida (VIEWING ALERT: 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). Thanks to our injuries, which begat our losing at the beginning of the month, and Cleveland's strong play, we're four games out of first in the East and the race for home court advantage is for all practical purposes over.
What's important is that we're getting healthy. Garnett has been back for three games and has, by design, averaged about 17 minutes per night in those outings. He says he's ready to play more, but Doc is (rightfully) being careful with him. That Garnett has missed a month isn't really a bad thing; he has plenty of time to round back into playing shape before the playoffs and he should be comparatively well-rested for the post-season.
Having Garnett back is very reassuring, however, particularly on the defensive end, where we'd struggled in his absence. Despite his limited minutes, Boston's opponents in the three games he's been back have averaged 80 points per game. Granted, no one is going to confuse the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers with, say, the New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors, but it's nice to see that the C's still have it on that end.
One concern I do have, however, is the wear on Paul Pierce's tires. In the 13 games Garnett missed, Pierce averaged right around 40 minutes per game, two minutes more than his season average and four minutes more than he averaged last year. Injuries are to blame and you can't fault Doc for it, but it would be nice to find a way to rest him a little bit down the stretch.
A win on Wednesday would go a long way toward making that happen. Beating the Magic would effectively put us three games up on them; two in the standings, and another because we'd have the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-1 head-to-head record. That'd probably be enough of a cushion, given our relatively favorable remaining schedule, to rest the big guns at times over the last few weeks of the regular season.
It didn't start that way. Tuesday night, we apparently played a terrible defensive game and gave up 127 points to Chicago. (I missed this one, as I was enjoying sublime food and company at Delmonico steakhouse in the Venetian -- highly recommended, and if you don't get the banana cream pie for dessert, you are cheating yourself.)
On Wednesday, we needed overtime to beat the Heat without Dwyane Wade - but we were still missing Kevin Garnett, as well as Ray Allen (who missed only that game with a hyperextended elbow suffered the previous night against Chicago) and Leon Powe (who will miss a couple of weeks due to a knee injury also suffered against the Bulls), as well as Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine (out indefinitely with a thumb injury and post-concussion syndrom, respectively). I caught only the fourth quarter and overtime of this one, at a bar at Treasure Island.
On Friday, we stole one from San Antonio, the second-best team in the Western Conference at the time, when the Spurs choked from the free throw line down the stretch. I didn't see this one, as it was on NBATV.
Saturday night, we beat the hapless Memphis Grizzlies behind a career-high 24 points from Glen Davis, standing in for Powe. Ironically, it was just a couple of weeks ago that Powe, his minutes increased due to injuries to Garnett and Davis, notched a career-high 30 points against the same Memphis squad. This one was also on NBATV.
And Monday night, we avenged an embarassing loss last month by pasting the Los Angeles Clippers. I caught this one on TV. The Clippers are terrible, and so are their announcers.
The four-game winning streak is important, as it has kept the Celtics a game ahead of the Orlando Magic for the second spot in the East, with an all-important showdown between the two teams coming up on Wednesday night in Florida (VIEWING ALERT: 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN). Thanks to our injuries, which begat our losing at the beginning of the month, and Cleveland's strong play, we're four games out of first in the East and the race for home court advantage is for all practical purposes over.
What's important is that we're getting healthy. Garnett has been back for three games and has, by design, averaged about 17 minutes per night in those outings. He says he's ready to play more, but Doc is (rightfully) being careful with him. That Garnett has missed a month isn't really a bad thing; he has plenty of time to round back into playing shape before the playoffs and he should be comparatively well-rested for the post-season.
Having Garnett back is very reassuring, however, particularly on the defensive end, where we'd struggled in his absence. Despite his limited minutes, Boston's opponents in the three games he's been back have averaged 80 points per game. Granted, no one is going to confuse the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers with, say, the New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors, but it's nice to see that the C's still have it on that end.
One concern I do have, however, is the wear on Paul Pierce's tires. In the 13 games Garnett missed, Pierce averaged right around 40 minutes per game, two minutes more than his season average and four minutes more than he averaged last year. Injuries are to blame and you can't fault Doc for it, but it would be nice to find a way to rest him a little bit down the stretch.
A win on Wednesday would go a long way toward making that happen. Beating the Magic would effectively put us three games up on them; two in the standings, and another because we'd have the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-1 head-to-head record. That'd probably be enough of a cushion, given our relatively favorable remaining schedule, to rest the big guns at times over the last few weeks of the regular season.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Boston 102, Memphis 92
Last night was the Leon Powe show.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It was a career gane for the third-year man out of California. Powe, taking advantage of extended playing time due to injuries to Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis, had 30 points, 11 rebounds, and an uncharacteristic five blocked shots against the Grizzlies. RwH has always been a big Powe fan, and it's very satisfying to see him have a game like this.
RwH has also, however, always been lukewarm towards Celtics coach Doc Rivers, at least as a bench coach, and it will be interesting -- and by "interesting," I mean "potentially very frustrating" -- to see what happens when Davis comes back. Of the two somewhat undersized power forwards -- undersized in terms of height, that is -- Powe is clearly the better player, a fact that seems clear to everyone but Rivers. After declaring in the preseason that Powe would be the first forward off the bench, Rivers quickly started giving more and more playing time to Davis.
Big Baby hasn't been bad this year, and when he's hitting his jumper, as he has been the last month or so, he's an effective player. But he doesn't mix it up underneath the way Powe does, doesn't crash the boards as well, and can, when he's not hitting that J, shoot us out of some games.
Powe, on the other hand, always plays hard and gives us the rebounding we desperately need from the second team. He doesn't necessarily "need the ball" to score; he gets a lot of buckets off of offensive rebounds and by being in the right spot at the right time. And because he operates so close to the basket, he takes better shots, shooting almost 52 percent to Davis' 43 percent. He also takes the most free throws of any Celtic not named Paul Pierce, a remarkable statistic given that he plays less than 18 minutes per game.
However, Powe can get out of rhythm a little bit: There are times when he just doesn't seem to have his footwork down or his confidence up, and the result can be some ugly and embarrassing post moves. It's important for Powe to have a defined, regular role on the team. If Doc jerks him around too much, there's a real risk that we'll lose his effectiveness for several games.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It was a career gane for the third-year man out of California. Powe, taking advantage of extended playing time due to injuries to Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis, had 30 points, 11 rebounds, and an uncharacteristic five blocked shots against the Grizzlies. RwH has always been a big Powe fan, and it's very satisfying to see him have a game like this.
RwH has also, however, always been lukewarm towards Celtics coach Doc Rivers, at least as a bench coach, and it will be interesting -- and by "interesting," I mean "potentially very frustrating" -- to see what happens when Davis comes back. Of the two somewhat undersized power forwards -- undersized in terms of height, that is -- Powe is clearly the better player, a fact that seems clear to everyone but Rivers. After declaring in the preseason that Powe would be the first forward off the bench, Rivers quickly started giving more and more playing time to Davis.
Big Baby hasn't been bad this year, and when he's hitting his jumper, as he has been the last month or so, he's an effective player. But he doesn't mix it up underneath the way Powe does, doesn't crash the boards as well, and can, when he's not hitting that J, shoot us out of some games.
Powe, on the other hand, always plays hard and gives us the rebounding we desperately need from the second team. He doesn't necessarily "need the ball" to score; he gets a lot of buckets off of offensive rebounds and by being in the right spot at the right time. And because he operates so close to the basket, he takes better shots, shooting almost 52 percent to Davis' 43 percent. He also takes the most free throws of any Celtic not named Paul Pierce, a remarkable statistic given that he plays less than 18 minutes per game.
However, Powe can get out of rhythm a little bit: There are times when he just doesn't seem to have his footwork down or his confidence up, and the result can be some ugly and embarrassing post moves. It's important for Powe to have a defined, regular role on the team. If Doc jerks him around too much, there's a real risk that we'll lose his effectiveness for several games.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Orlando 86, Boston 79
I don't really know how to feel about this one.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Boston 105, Cleveland 94
Best win of the year.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
In a game that Boston essentially needed to win to stay alive for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, they could not have played much better on either end of the floor.
Defensively, they frustrated LeBron James, holding him to 5-for-15 shooting and forcing him into four turnovers. Beyond those numbers, though, James looked uncomfortable the entire evening, unassertive. It was the same defensive scheme more or less contained James during much of last year's epic Eastern Conference finals. I can't remember watching a game where James played this ineffectively.
Offensively, they shot better than 54 percent against what was the league's stingiest field goal percentage defense (Boston is now a tenth of a percentage point better in that category), and assisted on 31 of 45 baskets. Paul Pierce led the way with 29 points and nine assists, but it was Leon Powe's best game of the year -- 20 points, 11 rebounds off the bench -- that keyed the victory.
Powe, along with Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, just played harder and tougher than Cleveland's frontline the entire evening. It was the same kind of thing we saw against the Lakers in last year's Finals. The difference, however, is that guys like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, while highly skilled, have something of a "soft" reputation. Cleveland's frontline, especially Anderson Varejao and the newly-reacquired Joe Smith, is a physical group that doesn't get outworked very often. Yes, the Cavs were without a key piece of that frontline, Ben Wallace, but his absence is more than balanced -- much more than balanced -- by the fact that his opposite number, Kevin Garnett, was missing from the Celtics' lineup.
No Garnett. His replacement (Davis) ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant-two on Varejao. A Rajon Rondo slowed by an ankle injury suffered early in the game. Twelve free throw attempts to Cleveland's 38.
And a relatively comfortable 11-point victory.
Boston's next game is another big test with playoff implications, a home date with Orlando on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern (no national TV).
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
In a game that Boston essentially needed to win to stay alive for home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, they could not have played much better on either end of the floor.
Defensively, they frustrated LeBron James, holding him to 5-for-15 shooting and forcing him into four turnovers. Beyond those numbers, though, James looked uncomfortable the entire evening, unassertive. It was the same defensive scheme more or less contained James during much of last year's epic Eastern Conference finals. I can't remember watching a game where James played this ineffectively.
Offensively, they shot better than 54 percent against what was the league's stingiest field goal percentage defense (Boston is now a tenth of a percentage point better in that category), and assisted on 31 of 45 baskets. Paul Pierce led the way with 29 points and nine assists, but it was Leon Powe's best game of the year -- 20 points, 11 rebounds off the bench -- that keyed the victory.
Powe, along with Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis, just played harder and tougher than Cleveland's frontline the entire evening. It was the same kind of thing we saw against the Lakers in last year's Finals. The difference, however, is that guys like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, while highly skilled, have something of a "soft" reputation. Cleveland's frontline, especially Anderson Varejao and the newly-reacquired Joe Smith, is a physical group that doesn't get outworked very often. Yes, the Cavs were without a key piece of that frontline, Ben Wallace, but his absence is more than balanced -- much more than balanced -- by the fact that his opposite number, Kevin Garnett, was missing from the Celtics' lineup.
No Garnett. His replacement (Davis) ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant-two on Varejao. A Rajon Rondo slowed by an ankle injury suffered early in the game. Twelve free throw attempts to Cleveland's 38.
And a relatively comfortable 11-point victory.
Boston's next game is another big test with playoff implications, a home date with Orlando on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern (no national TV).
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Boston 89, New Orleans 77
Nice to rebound from a couple of home losses to Western teams with a win on the road. We'll try to do the same thing tonight in Dallas at 9:30 pm Eastern (VIEWING ALERT) on TNT.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
This game was really ugly through three quarters, and it didn't get much prettier in the fourth, except on the scoreboard. And it was the bench that did it for the Celtics. Tied at 64 heading into the fourth, it was seven and a half minutes before any of the Big Three (reduced to the Big Two due to a thumb injury to Ray Allen; more on that later) made a bucket in the fourth. By that time, Boston had a ten point lead. Glen Davis had a couple of buckets, but give most of the credit here to Eddie House and Leon Powe. House had eight of his 12 points in the fourth; Leon had seven of his 11 in the period. Good stuff from both of those guys. It's been a while since Leon's had this kind of game. Here's hoping he keeps it up, and Doc lets him.
So, yeah, Ray hyperextended his thumb somehow in the first quarter, and didn't play in the second half. He says he's going to try to play tonight, but he also said that he couldn't grip a ball last night, and I don't see how that's going to change in less than 24 hours. This will leave us awfully thin in the backcourt, as Tony Allen didn't even make the Texas trip with his own thumb injury. In Ray's stead last night, Gabe Pruitt started the second half, though House was clearly the more effective player. Still, it's hard to see a Rondo-House backcourt being able to effectively defend the much taller Dallas guards (Jason Kidd is 6'4", Antoine Wright is 6'7"). I imagine that if Ray can't go, Pruitt will start, and Rondo will probably go close to the full 48.
This injury also might affect Ray's ability to play in the All-Star game, his nomination to which I keep meaning to write about, but also keep running out of time. I am out of time now, as well. Maybe over the weekend.
Finally, having had League Pass for a year-plus now, I've heard most NBA teams' announcing crews, and none is more annoying than New Orleans'. I don't know how Bees fans listen to these guys every night. It's not just that they're biased, though they are. Most announcers for halfway decent teams are; I think the only team this year I've heard whose announcers aren't biased are the Sacramento Kings. Besides, it would be a bit hypocritical for a Boston fan to hate on biased announcing, as Tommy and Mike are the worst (best?) when it comes to that.
No, these guys were just flat-out annoying, the kind of people you roll your eyes at when you spot them from afar at a party. The color analyst is always making terrible jokes; I like a good (or bad) pun more than most, but there are only so many times that you can talk about Leon's "Powe-tential." The play-by-play guy is always encouraging these jokes, and I also thought he went a little overboard on a couple of crossovers by Chris Paul. They were nice moves, but not the anklebreakers this guy said they were, and besides, the guys whose ankles were allegedly broken - Gabe Pruitt and Eddie House -- aren't exactly institutions of the NBA All-Defensive Team. (For his part, the color analyst told Gabe Pruitt to "Dust your keister off, because he just dusted you!" after Paul took him to the cup. Ugh.) And the sideline reporter takes his job waaaaaaaaay too seriously. They do a promotion where the fans get to ask the broadcasters questions, and last night's question was "Which team besides New Orleans has the best chance to win the championship?" and while I actually can't remember what the sideline guy's answer was, he put way too much explanation in it for being a sideline guy.
Also, last night's trivia question for the NO fans was "Which Hornet won a championship with Boston last year?" and it was multiple choice -- and somehow 12 percent of the people texting in the answer got it wrong.
I'm convinced that those 12 percent were taking advantage of an ingenious plan a few of my friends and I dreamed up at a Clippers game this season. They have a promotion where you text the answer to a question they post on the JumboTron and you have a chance to win prizes, and we figured that we would just text a random letter (A, B, C, D) every night there was a Clippers game around the time they usually put the question up. Alas, you have to be present at the game to win - I think you have to go to some booth or something.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
This game was really ugly through three quarters, and it didn't get much prettier in the fourth, except on the scoreboard. And it was the bench that did it for the Celtics. Tied at 64 heading into the fourth, it was seven and a half minutes before any of the Big Three (reduced to the Big Two due to a thumb injury to Ray Allen; more on that later) made a bucket in the fourth. By that time, Boston had a ten point lead. Glen Davis had a couple of buckets, but give most of the credit here to Eddie House and Leon Powe. House had eight of his 12 points in the fourth; Leon had seven of his 11 in the period. Good stuff from both of those guys. It's been a while since Leon's had this kind of game. Here's hoping he keeps it up, and Doc lets him.
So, yeah, Ray hyperextended his thumb somehow in the first quarter, and didn't play in the second half. He says he's going to try to play tonight, but he also said that he couldn't grip a ball last night, and I don't see how that's going to change in less than 24 hours. This will leave us awfully thin in the backcourt, as Tony Allen didn't even make the Texas trip with his own thumb injury. In Ray's stead last night, Gabe Pruitt started the second half, though House was clearly the more effective player. Still, it's hard to see a Rondo-House backcourt being able to effectively defend the much taller Dallas guards (Jason Kidd is 6'4", Antoine Wright is 6'7"). I imagine that if Ray can't go, Pruitt will start, and Rondo will probably go close to the full 48.
This injury also might affect Ray's ability to play in the All-Star game, his nomination to which I keep meaning to write about, but also keep running out of time. I am out of time now, as well. Maybe over the weekend.
Finally, having had League Pass for a year-plus now, I've heard most NBA teams' announcing crews, and none is more annoying than New Orleans'. I don't know how Bees fans listen to these guys every night. It's not just that they're biased, though they are. Most announcers for halfway decent teams are; I think the only team this year I've heard whose announcers aren't biased are the Sacramento Kings. Besides, it would be a bit hypocritical for a Boston fan to hate on biased announcing, as Tommy and Mike are the worst (best?) when it comes to that.
No, these guys were just flat-out annoying, the kind of people you roll your eyes at when you spot them from afar at a party. The color analyst is always making terrible jokes; I like a good (or bad) pun more than most, but there are only so many times that you can talk about Leon's "Powe-tential." The play-by-play guy is always encouraging these jokes, and I also thought he went a little overboard on a couple of crossovers by Chris Paul. They were nice moves, but not the anklebreakers this guy said they were, and besides, the guys whose ankles were allegedly broken - Gabe Pruitt and Eddie House -- aren't exactly institutions of the NBA All-Defensive Team. (For his part, the color analyst told Gabe Pruitt to "Dust your keister off, because he just dusted you!" after Paul took him to the cup. Ugh.) And the sideline reporter takes his job waaaaaaaaay too seriously. They do a promotion where the fans get to ask the broadcasters questions, and last night's question was "Which team besides New Orleans has the best chance to win the championship?" and while I actually can't remember what the sideline guy's answer was, he put way too much explanation in it for being a sideline guy.
Also, last night's trivia question for the NO fans was "Which Hornet won a championship with Boston last year?" and it was multiple choice -- and somehow 12 percent of the people texting in the answer got it wrong.
I'm convinced that those 12 percent were taking advantage of an ingenious plan a few of my friends and I dreamed up at a Clippers game this season. They have a promotion where you text the answer to a question they post on the JumboTron and you have a chance to win prizes, and we figured that we would just text a random letter (A, B, C, D) every night there was a Clippers game around the time they usually put the question up. Alas, you have to be present at the game to win - I think you have to go to some booth or something.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Los Angeles Lakers 110, Boston 109 (OT)
First, all credit to the Lakers. Third game in four days at the end of a road trip and they played a lot tougher than they did in last year's Finals.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
You could blame the officials for this one. You could put it on Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen being slowed by the flu. I point directly at Doc Rivers.
After Lamar Odom hit a couple of free throws to put the Lakers up by one in overtime with 16 seconds left, Boston called a 20-second timeout. Here's the lineup Doc came up with: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis, and Kendrick Perkins. To be fair, Davis was in the game because Garnett had fouled out with a few minutes left in regulation.
The first problem I have with this lineup is: NO EDDIE HOUSE!
Never mind the fact that Eddie was the only guy who had his jumper going (4-for-6 from deep), or that he has killed the Lakers the last season and a half, or that the guy he would have replaced, Davis, was having a terrible shooting night. We needed Eddie in to space the floor.
KG was out, and Rondo and Perkins are limited offensively to the point where you don't have to worry too much about them. Davis was having an awful game. The Lakers were able to focus their defensive energy on Pierce and Allen, and neither had room to operate. Eddie would open up the court more, and of course he's very dangerous if the Lakers happened to leave him open.
Secondly, in the absence of House, Doc chose to play Davis instead of Leon Powe. I've been ranting about Doc's choice of Glen Davis over Leon Powe for a while now, and last night it finally came back to bite us. I remember writing a few weeks ago that while Davis might have the potential to produce a little more on a given night, he also has the potential to shoot us out of any game. Last night, though he did make one big jumper, he did almost exactly that, going 1-for-8 from the field. I've said something similar before, but I'll say it again: Glen Davis should never go 1-for-8 in an important game on this team.
What was especially infuriating about watching Davis clang shot after shot down the stretch (while getting abused by Lamar Odom -- an admittedly tough cover for Davis -- on the other end) is that Doc finally let Leon Powe out of purgatory and Powe responded with 10 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes (on 5-of-7 shooting). And yet it was Davis who played the crunch-time minutes.
Anyway, I'm pretty sick of talking about this game. Very good win for the Lakers. We'll see what implications it has. The one obvious one is that were the two teams to meet in the Finals after posting the exact same overall record during the regular season, the Lakers would get homecourt advantage. That would be very important should it come to pass, but I'm not too worried about it. The odds of two teams ending with the same record aren't great to begin with, and I have to figure that the Lakers are going to lose a couple here and there that they would have won with Andrew Bynum. The other consequence would be confidence on the part of the Lakers, since they've now won in a building they couldn't win in last June.
The Celtics will try to start a new winning streak when they play New York tonight. Next natioanl TV game is San Antonio on Sunday, at 1 pm. Eastern, on ABC.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
You could blame the officials for this one. You could put it on Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen being slowed by the flu. I point directly at Doc Rivers.
After Lamar Odom hit a couple of free throws to put the Lakers up by one in overtime with 16 seconds left, Boston called a 20-second timeout. Here's the lineup Doc came up with: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis, and Kendrick Perkins. To be fair, Davis was in the game because Garnett had fouled out with a few minutes left in regulation.
The first problem I have with this lineup is: NO EDDIE HOUSE!
Never mind the fact that Eddie was the only guy who had his jumper going (4-for-6 from deep), or that he has killed the Lakers the last season and a half, or that the guy he would have replaced, Davis, was having a terrible shooting night. We needed Eddie in to space the floor.
KG was out, and Rondo and Perkins are limited offensively to the point where you don't have to worry too much about them. Davis was having an awful game. The Lakers were able to focus their defensive energy on Pierce and Allen, and neither had room to operate. Eddie would open up the court more, and of course he's very dangerous if the Lakers happened to leave him open.
Secondly, in the absence of House, Doc chose to play Davis instead of Leon Powe. I've been ranting about Doc's choice of Glen Davis over Leon Powe for a while now, and last night it finally came back to bite us. I remember writing a few weeks ago that while Davis might have the potential to produce a little more on a given night, he also has the potential to shoot us out of any game. Last night, though he did make one big jumper, he did almost exactly that, going 1-for-8 from the field. I've said something similar before, but I'll say it again: Glen Davis should never go 1-for-8 in an important game on this team.
What was especially infuriating about watching Davis clang shot after shot down the stretch (while getting abused by Lamar Odom -- an admittedly tough cover for Davis -- on the other end) is that Doc finally let Leon Powe out of purgatory and Powe responded with 10 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes (on 5-of-7 shooting). And yet it was Davis who played the crunch-time minutes.
Anyway, I'm pretty sick of talking about this game. Very good win for the Lakers. We'll see what implications it has. The one obvious one is that were the two teams to meet in the Finals after posting the exact same overall record during the regular season, the Lakers would get homecourt advantage. That would be very important should it come to pass, but I'm not too worried about it. The odds of two teams ending with the same record aren't great to begin with, and I have to figure that the Lakers are going to lose a couple here and there that they would have won with Andrew Bynum. The other consequence would be confidence on the part of the Lakers, since they've now won in a building they couldn't win in last June.
The Celtics will try to start a new winning streak when they play New York tonight. Next natioanl TV game is San Antonio on Sunday, at 1 pm. Eastern, on ABC.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Boston 119, Sacramento 100
Seriously, it's getting difficult to write when every game is a blowout. Not that I'm complaining.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Sluggish start, followed by a 40-19 second quarter that put the game effectively out of reach.
Quick notes:
-Eddie House is shooting the hell out of the basketball right now. In three of his last four games, he has gone over 20 points, doing most of his damage -- as he is wont to do -- from behind the arc. A then-career high seven threes (out of 11 attempts) against Miami on January 21; an identical deep shooting performance against Dallas on Sunday; and then eight-for-nine from downtown last night. Throw in his zero-for-one from Orlando, and over the last four, he's hit 22 of his last 32 triples -- 68.8 percent. I remember hearing (unsubstantiated) rumors a few weeks back that Danny Ainge was after Orlando's J.J. Redick because we needed a shooter off the bench; so much for that. (I can't quite put my finger on it, but the thought of Kevin Garnett
-Leon Powe got some run tonight, but Brian Scalabrine was out after suffering two concussions in three days. He got one against Dallas, apparently, and then was fragged by Patrick O'Bryant during Tuesday's practice. I feel bad for Scal, because they showed an interview with him on last night's broadcast, and he looked really disappointed. I don't blame him; the guy finally gets some real playing time and sheds his victory-cigar role (though the fans still implore him to shoot every time he touches the ball0, and then he gets knocked out of the lineup for a week or 10 days. It's only a few games, but when Doc Rivers is your coach, a lot can happen in those few games. He could lose minutes back to Powe, or Doc could forget his name or that he's on the team, or could decide that Patrick O'Bryant needs more PT, or that Sam Cassell would make a good power forward.
Leon missed two dunks tonight. I told you he was out of rhythm.
-Tony Allen returned to the lineup tonight, and played very well. driving, dishing, playing under control. Tony plays well just often enough that I can't bring myself to say, "Screw it, let's trade this guy for whatever we can get," but is generally so inconsistent and dumb on the court that I can't bring myself to like him, either. In truth, we can't really get rid of him, because he's our main backup on the wing and he's the guy on the second team who can create his own shot (I know, I've said this all a million times), but man, does he drive me crazy. Here's hoping that he wasn't really injured during his 11-game hiatus, but was at some basketball IQ camp with Gerald Green for three weeks, learning how to play the game.
-Paul Pierce picked up three fouls in the first quarter and had a blah scoring night, which is awesome for one of my fantasy teams. I'm playing the best team in the league and should win in rebounds and blocks (I have Shaq and Samuel Dalembert), while he's good in assists and steals (he has Chris Paul, and my guards are of the scoring type). Points will be the deciding category. Pierce's off-night is added to an off-night from Vince Carter to begin the week (though VC bounced back nicely last night) has him slightly off the projected pace, while I'm bolstered by Mo Williams' 43 two nights ago against Sacto. I just might be able to squeeze out a 3-2 win, giving me the all-important psychological edge as we look ahead to the playoffs.
Not that you care.
You might care, though, that the Celtics' next game is Friday night in Detroit, on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern. The Pistons seem to really be struggling this year, and have recently moved Rip Hamilton to the bench to make room for Rodney Stuckey in their lineup alongside Allen Iverson. Still should be a good game, as these teams are rivals, it's always fun to watch Iverson, and Stuckey's an intriguing young player. And there's always a strong possibility that Rasheed Wallace will pick up a technical foul -- he leads the league with 12 and is well on his way to the suspension threshhold of 16.
Plus, there's always a chance that Hamilton will kill somebody on the court, then turn to the ref and complain that he was fouled.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Sluggish start, followed by a 40-19 second quarter that put the game effectively out of reach.
Quick notes:
-Eddie House is shooting the hell out of the basketball right now. In three of his last four games, he has gone over 20 points, doing most of his damage -- as he is wont to do -- from behind the arc. A then-career high seven threes (out of 11 attempts) against Miami on January 21; an identical deep shooting performance against Dallas on Sunday; and then eight-for-nine from downtown last night. Throw in his zero-for-one from Orlando, and over the last four, he's hit 22 of his last 32 triples -- 68.8 percent. I remember hearing (unsubstantiated) rumors a few weeks back that Danny Ainge was after Orlando's J.J. Redick because we needed a shooter off the bench; so much for that. (I can't quite put my finger on it, but the thought of Kevin Garnett
-Leon Powe got some run tonight, but Brian Scalabrine was out after suffering two concussions in three days. He got one against Dallas, apparently, and then was fragged by Patrick O'Bryant during Tuesday's practice. I feel bad for Scal, because they showed an interview with him on last night's broadcast, and he looked really disappointed. I don't blame him; the guy finally gets some real playing time and sheds his victory-cigar role (though the fans still implore him to shoot every time he touches the ball0, and then he gets knocked out of the lineup for a week or 10 days. It's only a few games, but when Doc Rivers is your coach, a lot can happen in those few games. He could lose minutes back to Powe, or Doc could forget his name or that he's on the team, or could decide that Patrick O'Bryant needs more PT, or that Sam Cassell would make a good power forward.
Leon missed two dunks tonight. I told you he was out of rhythm.
-Tony Allen returned to the lineup tonight, and played very well. driving, dishing, playing under control. Tony plays well just often enough that I can't bring myself to say, "Screw it, let's trade this guy for whatever we can get," but is generally so inconsistent and dumb on the court that I can't bring myself to like him, either. In truth, we can't really get rid of him, because he's our main backup on the wing and he's the guy on the second team who can create his own shot (I know, I've said this all a million times), but man, does he drive me crazy. Here's hoping that he wasn't really injured during his 11-game hiatus, but was at some basketball IQ camp with Gerald Green for three weeks, learning how to play the game.
-Paul Pierce picked up three fouls in the first quarter and had a blah scoring night, which is awesome for one of my fantasy teams. I'm playing the best team in the league and should win in rebounds and blocks (I have Shaq and Samuel Dalembert), while he's good in assists and steals (he has Chris Paul, and my guards are of the scoring type). Points will be the deciding category. Pierce's off-night is added to an off-night from Vince Carter to begin the week (though VC bounced back nicely last night) has him slightly off the projected pace, while I'm bolstered by Mo Williams' 43 two nights ago against Sacto. I just might be able to squeeze out a 3-2 win, giving me the all-important psychological edge as we look ahead to the playoffs.
Not that you care.
You might care, though, that the Celtics' next game is Friday night in Detroit, on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern. The Pistons seem to really be struggling this year, and have recently moved Rip Hamilton to the bench to make room for Rodney Stuckey in their lineup alongside Allen Iverson. Still should be a good game, as these teams are rivals, it's always fun to watch Iverson, and Stuckey's an intriguing young player. And there's always a strong possibility that Rasheed Wallace will pick up a technical foul -- he leads the league with 12 and is well on his way to the suspension threshhold of 16.
Plus, there's always a chance that Hamilton will kill somebody on the court, then turn to the ref and complain that he was fouled.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Boston 124, Dallas 100
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
I've got a lot to do today, so rather than sing everyone's praises individually, I'll just collectively sing the team's praises. La la la la praises. Great effort and performance on both ends in the first half, with a little bit of understandable letup in the second.
I touched on this last time, but for the second straight game, Leon Powe barely played. This time, he was reduced to bomb squad, playing only the last 8:45 despite the fact that Boston had a lead of 20 points or more throughout.
It's only been two games, so it remains to be seen whether this is a permanent thing or just one of Doc's quirky rotations. You'll remember that Leon was buried on the bench during a stretch of the playoffs last year, then responded with 21 points when he was finally rewarded with minutes in Game 2 of the Finals. But Powe looks irritated and out of rhythm out there, and it's understandable, given that he's losing minutes through what appears to be no fault of his own. If Kendrick Perkins doesn't get hurt against Cleveland, then Brian Scalabrine doesn't move into the starting lineup for five games and play well enough to earn regular minutes, and our frontcourt rotation still includes Powe.
We'll see how it plays out, I guess, but I just don't believe that Glen Davis is more effective than Powe.
Light week coming up, with games on Wednesday vs. Sacramento (whom we beat by 45 in December) and Friday at Detroit (on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern).
I've got a lot to do today, so rather than sing everyone's praises individually, I'll just collectively sing the team's praises. La la la la praises. Great effort and performance on both ends in the first half, with a little bit of understandable letup in the second.
I touched on this last time, but for the second straight game, Leon Powe barely played. This time, he was reduced to bomb squad, playing only the last 8:45 despite the fact that Boston had a lead of 20 points or more throughout.
It's only been two games, so it remains to be seen whether this is a permanent thing or just one of Doc's quirky rotations. You'll remember that Leon was buried on the bench during a stretch of the playoffs last year, then responded with 21 points when he was finally rewarded with minutes in Game 2 of the Finals. But Powe looks irritated and out of rhythm out there, and it's understandable, given that he's losing minutes through what appears to be no fault of his own. If Kendrick Perkins doesn't get hurt against Cleveland, then Brian Scalabrine doesn't move into the starting lineup for five games and play well enough to earn regular minutes, and our frontcourt rotation still includes Powe.
We'll see how it plays out, I guess, but I just don't believe that Glen Davis is more effective than Powe.
Light week coming up, with games on Wednesday vs. Sacramento (whom we beat by 45 in December) and Friday at Detroit (on ESPN at 7 p.m. Eastern).
Friday, January 23, 2009
Boston 90, Orlando 80
Boston passed an important test tonight.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's far too early to call this NBA season a four-horse race, but at this stage, four teams have established themselves as the cream of the crop: Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando in the East, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the West. After an opening-night win against the Cavaliers and a blowout of the Magic that was win number nine of a 19-game winning streak, the Celtics had lost their last two matchups with this crew: a tight one in LA on Christmas Day, and a 15-point debacle in Cleveland two weeks ago. The Cs had ripped off six straight wins since dropping that one to the Cavs, but there was a lot more at stake Thursday night in Orlando.
Boston came away with a relatively comfortable victory, opening up an eight-point halftime lead, and letting the Magic closer than that margin just twice, when Jameer Nelson sandwiched buckets around a Glen Davis jumper to twice cut the lead to seven with fewer than three minutes to play. But it didn't necessarily come easily, as this was one of the ugliest games of the season. Both teams looked disjointed offensively from the get-go; the building was pretty much dead, despite a reported sellout crowd; the officiating was disruptive and inconsistent.
The offense was ugly. It was a lot of Paul Pierce going one-on-one with an overmatched Hedo Turkoglu, with an unexpected contribution from Davis, whose jumper was falling tonight.
Here's how bad the offense was: The Celtics registered nine assists on 35 baskets, a rate of just over 25 percent. Compare that to team averages for the season coming into the game: 22-plus assists per game (4th best in the league); assists on nearly 61 percent of all baskets.
Nine assists is a very low number. I don't have time to check to make sure, but it has to be a season-low. Hell, Rajon Rondo is averaging eight per game, and he has 13 double-digit assist games already this year.
I'm feeling good about the team, but I'd like us to have a more solid idea of our frontcourt rotation. For whatever reason, Doc doesn't like starting Davis or Leon Powe, so when Kendrick Perkins got injured, Brian Scalabrine stepped into the starting lineup. Scal played well enough to prove that he deserves minutes as a passable rotation player, but its come at the expense of Leon Powe, who I think is the most solid of the three backup frontcourt players. When he's playing well, Davis is the more dynamic offensive player, but he's just as capable of hurting the team with a 1-for-12 performance (like he did in a recent win over Toronto) as he is of providing an unexpected spark, like he did tonight; doing a nice job on the three-million-vote man, Dwight Howard (note that Kevin Garnett will join Howard as a frontcourt starter for the East in the All-Star game - the reserves will be named shortly, and I expect Pierce, Ray Allen, and maybe even Rajon Rondo to join KG on the squad); scoring over Howard; hitting midrange jumpers with unusual accuracy. Powe hasn't developed into the versatile player I think he's capable of being, but he's not as much of a liability when he's playing poorly, as he seems more aware of his limitations than Davis is. I'm more of a Powe guy than a Davis guy, but I don't really care as long as a rotation is set and whoever is in it is playing well relatively consistently. What concerns me is that I don't know that Davis is that consistent player, and I worry about Powe's confidence, as he seems to have lost minutes despite not playing that poorly, while Davis has been given minutes without playing so well that Doc can't possibly keep him on the bench. Against Orlando, it wasn't until Perkins and Davis had each picked up three personal fouls checking Howard that Powe entered the game, with 2:22 remaining in the first half. I'm worried that Doc is ruining Leon by yanking him around like this.
Next game is Sunday vs. Dallas, on ABC at 1 p.m. Eastern.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's far too early to call this NBA season a four-horse race, but at this stage, four teams have established themselves as the cream of the crop: Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando in the East, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the West. After an opening-night win against the Cavaliers and a blowout of the Magic that was win number nine of a 19-game winning streak, the Celtics had lost their last two matchups with this crew: a tight one in LA on Christmas Day, and a 15-point debacle in Cleveland two weeks ago. The Cs had ripped off six straight wins since dropping that one to the Cavs, but there was a lot more at stake Thursday night in Orlando.
Boston came away with a relatively comfortable victory, opening up an eight-point halftime lead, and letting the Magic closer than that margin just twice, when Jameer Nelson sandwiched buckets around a Glen Davis jumper to twice cut the lead to seven with fewer than three minutes to play. But it didn't necessarily come easily, as this was one of the ugliest games of the season. Both teams looked disjointed offensively from the get-go; the building was pretty much dead, despite a reported sellout crowd; the officiating was disruptive and inconsistent.
The offense was ugly. It was a lot of Paul Pierce going one-on-one with an overmatched Hedo Turkoglu, with an unexpected contribution from Davis, whose jumper was falling tonight.
Here's how bad the offense was: The Celtics registered nine assists on 35 baskets, a rate of just over 25 percent. Compare that to team averages for the season coming into the game: 22-plus assists per game (4th best in the league); assists on nearly 61 percent of all baskets.
Nine assists is a very low number. I don't have time to check to make sure, but it has to be a season-low. Hell, Rajon Rondo is averaging eight per game, and he has 13 double-digit assist games already this year.
I'm feeling good about the team, but I'd like us to have a more solid idea of our frontcourt rotation. For whatever reason, Doc doesn't like starting Davis or Leon Powe, so when Kendrick Perkins got injured, Brian Scalabrine stepped into the starting lineup. Scal played well enough to prove that he deserves minutes as a passable rotation player, but its come at the expense of Leon Powe, who I think is the most solid of the three backup frontcourt players. When he's playing well, Davis is the more dynamic offensive player, but he's just as capable of hurting the team with a 1-for-12 performance (like he did in a recent win over Toronto) as he is of providing an unexpected spark, like he did tonight; doing a nice job on the three-million-vote man, Dwight Howard (note that Kevin Garnett will join Howard as a frontcourt starter for the East in the All-Star game - the reserves will be named shortly, and I expect Pierce, Ray Allen, and maybe even Rajon Rondo to join KG on the squad); scoring over Howard; hitting midrange jumpers with unusual accuracy. Powe hasn't developed into the versatile player I think he's capable of being, but he's not as much of a liability when he's playing poorly, as he seems more aware of his limitations than Davis is. I'm more of a Powe guy than a Davis guy, but I don't really care as long as a rotation is set and whoever is in it is playing well relatively consistently. What concerns me is that I don't know that Davis is that consistent player, and I worry about Powe's confidence, as he seems to have lost minutes despite not playing that poorly, while Davis has been given minutes without playing so well that Doc can't possibly keep him on the bench. Against Orlando, it wasn't until Perkins and Davis had each picked up three personal fouls checking Howard that Powe entered the game, with 2:22 remaining in the first half. I'm worried that Doc is ruining Leon by yanking him around like this.
Next game is Sunday vs. Dallas, on ABC at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Boston 94, Toronto 88
The Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak in Toronto Sunday, hanging on during a shaky fourth quarter to win.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Ray Allen is the Celtics most responsible for this one, scoring 36 points while making 11 of 14 shots overall, including eight of 10 three-pointers.
This game was pretty odd -- if you look at the score and Allen's shooting line, you'd figure Boston needed every one of those shots. But we were up 20 after three quarters before going cold in the fourth. And it could have been closer, as Toronto missed some open looks from behind the arc in the last few minutes.
I think it was close to exactly the performance the team needed. Our defensive effort was great for most the night, we got Ray going, and while we faltered in the fourth, we made enough plays to win -- which we didn't do the other night in crunch time against Houston. All this despite not having Kendrick Perkins -- out with the shoulder injury he aggravated Friday night against Cleveland -- and Tony Allen. (Toronto was missing starting center Jermaine O'Neal, and their point guard, Jose Calderon, played just 22 minutes as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury).
Noteworthy performances:
-Rajon Rondo was the catalyst for our offense he had been before Christmas, perhaps taking advantage of a slowed Calderon for 14 points and 11 assists.
-Brian Scalabrine got the start in Perkins' place, and while he found foul trouble early and eventually fouled out, he gave us 25 minutes of solid, energetic defense, and he chipped in offensively with seven points. Can't really ask for more than that from the guy at this point.
-Glen Davis was the other big whose playing time benefitted from Perk's absence. While Davis did grab 11 rebounds, he was missed 11 of his 12 shots from the floor, a mix of open jumpers and easy layups. I don't really understand Doc's reasoning here; Davis was struggling offensively and got 30 minutes (a lot for a guy his size), while Leon Powe had five points and three rebounds in just nine minutes. I'm inclined to give Powe most of Baby's playing time anyway (though they are often on the court together), but that is particularly so when Davis struggles like he did today. He was sulking, too, not running back as hard on D as the game wore on and the misses piled up.
-Kevin Garnett also struggled, going just three of 16 from the field. He was just an inch or two off the entire night. I would say the majority of his jumpers missed the exact same way: front rom, backboard, and off. It's good to get a win even on a night where he can't buy one.
-Paul Pierce didn't have a very big game, though he did make a big bucket late. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter; Scalabrine was knocked down and fell into Pierce's knee -- it looked like a little bit of a hyperextension or something. Pierce came back in the second quarter and didn't look to be hobbling around. I'm inclined to think that his lack of shooting (just five of 11) had more to do with how hot Ray was than anything with his knee.
We've got these same Raptors in Boston Monday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern). I don't know if Perkins or Tony Allen or O'Neal or Calderon will be playing. Because it's on NBATV, I won't be able to watch it, but I'll look at the box score and see if I can pick up on anything.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Ray Allen is the Celtics most responsible for this one, scoring 36 points while making 11 of 14 shots overall, including eight of 10 three-pointers.
This game was pretty odd -- if you look at the score and Allen's shooting line, you'd figure Boston needed every one of those shots. But we were up 20 after three quarters before going cold in the fourth. And it could have been closer, as Toronto missed some open looks from behind the arc in the last few minutes.
I think it was close to exactly the performance the team needed. Our defensive effort was great for most the night, we got Ray going, and while we faltered in the fourth, we made enough plays to win -- which we didn't do the other night in crunch time against Houston. All this despite not having Kendrick Perkins -- out with the shoulder injury he aggravated Friday night against Cleveland -- and Tony Allen. (Toronto was missing starting center Jermaine O'Neal, and their point guard, Jose Calderon, played just 22 minutes as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury).
Noteworthy performances:
-Rajon Rondo was the catalyst for our offense he had been before Christmas, perhaps taking advantage of a slowed Calderon for 14 points and 11 assists.
-Brian Scalabrine got the start in Perkins' place, and while he found foul trouble early and eventually fouled out, he gave us 25 minutes of solid, energetic defense, and he chipped in offensively with seven points. Can't really ask for more than that from the guy at this point.
-Glen Davis was the other big whose playing time benefitted from Perk's absence. While Davis did grab 11 rebounds, he was missed 11 of his 12 shots from the floor, a mix of open jumpers and easy layups. I don't really understand Doc's reasoning here; Davis was struggling offensively and got 30 minutes (a lot for a guy his size), while Leon Powe had five points and three rebounds in just nine minutes. I'm inclined to give Powe most of Baby's playing time anyway (though they are often on the court together), but that is particularly so when Davis struggles like he did today. He was sulking, too, not running back as hard on D as the game wore on and the misses piled up.
-Kevin Garnett also struggled, going just three of 16 from the field. He was just an inch or two off the entire night. I would say the majority of his jumpers missed the exact same way: front rom, backboard, and off. It's good to get a win even on a night where he can't buy one.
-Paul Pierce didn't have a very big game, though he did make a big bucket late. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with a knee injury he suffered in the first quarter; Scalabrine was knocked down and fell into Pierce's knee -- it looked like a little bit of a hyperextension or something. Pierce came back in the second quarter and didn't look to be hobbling around. I'm inclined to think that his lack of shooting (just five of 11) had more to do with how hot Ray was than anything with his knee.
We've got these same Raptors in Boston Monday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern). I don't know if Perkins or Tony Allen or O'Neal or Calderon will be playing. Because it's on NBATV, I won't be able to watch it, but I'll look at the box score and see if I can pick up on anything.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Boston 94, New Orleans 82
A good win over a strong team on a night we didn't play our best.
[recap] [box score]
The highlight reel found in the game recap has a couple of spectacular plays toward the end; 1) a steal by Glen Davis, followed by the 289-pound second-year player taking it 70 feet before dishing to Tony Allen (who provided a great finish while getting fouled -- pretty much the only thing he did right all night); and 2) a sweet give-and-go alley-good between Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Otherwise, this one was kind of ugly. Boston out-toughed New Orleans, although some of that is because the Hornets were without their starting center, Tyson Chandler, who hurt his neck in practice.
I though Davis and Leon Powe played very well, despite their modest stat lines. Eddie House provided the outside shooting we needed to put the game away. And it was good to see Paul Pierce, who had 13 of his 28 in the decisive third quarter, step up and play the kind of offensive game we know he's capable of but hadn't seen from him in a while.
Although Chris Paul had 20 points and 14 rebounds, that's really a deceptive stat line; the Celtics did a nice job of containing him all night. Holding a guy like Paul to five made field goals is an indication of why we are so good defensively; we stop the other team's star player from getting to the basket. A few times, it broke down a bit, as we left guys open under the basket in an attempt to keep Paul away from the tin, and he found them for easy layups. But our defense certainly frustrated Paul, whose overlooked dirty streak -- remember, he was suspended a game in college for punching Julius Hodge in the groin, something everyone seems to forget about -- came through late when he set a fairly vicious illegal screen on Kendrick Perkins (Perk did a nice job not reacting to it).
Fourteen in a row now, and Cleveland is still hot on our heels. Next game is Monday night vs. Utah (7:30 p.m. Eastern; no national TV). The Jazz have another great young point guard in Deron Wililams, but our job against him will be a little different. He doesn't drive to score as much as Paul does, so we'll need to jump the screen-and-roll a bit more to keep him from shooting if Rondo goes behind the screens, rather than sagging back and daring him to shoot outside, the way we do with Paul.
[recap] [box score]
The highlight reel found in the game recap has a couple of spectacular plays toward the end; 1) a steal by Glen Davis, followed by the 289-pound second-year player taking it 70 feet before dishing to Tony Allen (who provided a great finish while getting fouled -- pretty much the only thing he did right all night); and 2) a sweet give-and-go alley-good between Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Otherwise, this one was kind of ugly. Boston out-toughed New Orleans, although some of that is because the Hornets were without their starting center, Tyson Chandler, who hurt his neck in practice.
I though Davis and Leon Powe played very well, despite their modest stat lines. Eddie House provided the outside shooting we needed to put the game away. And it was good to see Paul Pierce, who had 13 of his 28 in the decisive third quarter, step up and play the kind of offensive game we know he's capable of but hadn't seen from him in a while.
Although Chris Paul had 20 points and 14 rebounds, that's really a deceptive stat line; the Celtics did a nice job of containing him all night. Holding a guy like Paul to five made field goals is an indication of why we are so good defensively; we stop the other team's star player from getting to the basket. A few times, it broke down a bit, as we left guys open under the basket in an attempt to keep Paul away from the tin, and he found them for easy layups. But our defense certainly frustrated Paul, whose overlooked dirty streak -- remember, he was suspended a game in college for punching Julius Hodge in the groin, something everyone seems to forget about -- came through late when he set a fairly vicious illegal screen on Kendrick Perkins (Perk did a nice job not reacting to it).
Fourteen in a row now, and Cleveland is still hot on our heels. Next game is Monday night vs. Utah (7:30 p.m. Eastern; no national TV). The Jazz have another great young point guard in Deron Wililams, but our job against him will be a little different. He doesn't drive to score as much as Paul does, so we'll need to jump the screen-and-roll a bit more to keep him from shooting if Rondo goes behind the screens, rather than sagging back and daring him to shoot outside, the way we do with Paul.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Boston 110, New York 101
Stagnant, pre-Big Three-style fourth-quarter offense made this one closer than it should have been, but it's nice to win a game over a decent team without KG -- and without Paul Pierce having to play Superman.
[recap] [box score]
Quick hit thoughts:
-I'm the first to criticize Brian Scalabrine, so I should give him some praise when he actually plays well. Starting in place of the suspended Kevin Garnett, Scal contributed, and not just with Scal contributions like rebounds and fouls. He actually hit three jumpers, two at the end of the third quarter, and the game-icer late in the fourth. He hasn't exactly earned all the money we've given him, but it's nice to see he has a good game in him once in a while.
-The bench played great in the second quarter; so great, in fact, that unless I'm mistaken, Pierce and Rajon Rondo sat the entire period. Particularly high marks go to Leon Powe, who I think got all 14 of his points in the second, mostly against everyone's favorite backup power forward, David Lee. Eddie House actually did some point guard-type stuff, including a few nice assists on fast breaks. I believe that the bench players hit their first ten field goal attempts. It helps, of course, that the Knicks have no interest whatsoever in playing defense.
-Nice to see Kendrick Perkins play as aggressively and as well as he did. The Knicks are basically playing without a center, and for all his offensive limitations, Perkins can score over guys like Lee and Zach Randolph. He even channeled KG a few times: hitting a wide-open Rondo for an easy layup; running the pinch post play with Rondo for another easy assist; and then a three-possession stretch where he kicked it out to Pierce for a three, blocked Wilson Chandler on the other end, and then hit an eight-foot turnaround bank shot over his right shoulder on the left side of the court. Not sure where it comes from, but I'll take it whenever we can get it.
-Defense wasn't great tonight, but the Knicks did only shoot 43 percent, and they're a team that likes to push the ball and put pressure on your defense. Considering we were without our best defensive player, I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well on that end.
-Even in victory, I'm not sparing Tony Allen. Tonight's example that he simply has no feel for the game of basketball: Up 12 early in the fourth, Tony gets the ball, wide-open, 17 feet from the basket, with two seconds left on the shotclock. This isn't exactly his shot, and he's been criticized for being a little selfish this year, but this is a time where no one would complain if he put it up. Instead, he kicks it to Glen Davis, 19 feet from the basket at the other elbow, who can barely catch the ball before the shot clock expires.
You can almost see what's going through Tony's head during plays like this: "I'm open, and the shotclock is running down, but Coach told me not to take so many jumpers. Baby's open. I'll pass it to him and show everyone that I'm not selfish."
Generally speaking, good basketball players "get it." There are obviously different degrees of this, but most good basketball players at least show a modicum of savvy about the game. Tony doesn't.
-Last thing: Does everyone on the Knicks have to be a punk now? This post from the weekend mentions the Jamal Crawford-Ray Allen skirmish from last preseason. It also mentions the Crawford-Pierce double ejection last MLK Day, but that was as much Pierce's fault as it was Crawford's. But it's not just Crawford. Nate Robinson is like the quintessential guy who shows up at the playground who no one wants to play with. Always complaining about a foul, always looking for a fight. Some might say it's a short-man thing, but being of rather diminutive stature myself, I'm not going to go there. Randolph started something with Powe in the first half tonight that led to double techs. Later, Randolph had words for Pierce for no discernible reason.
Those guys have always had that edge, though. What surprised me tonight was watching Chris Duhon drain a wide-open three, then turn and say something to the Celtics bench. He hit another wide-open three later, and again was talking smack.
Hey, Chris, I know you're not very used to hitting jumpers, but there's a reason we're letting you shoot: Compared to your average NBA guard, you suck at shooting. Talk all you want; we're not sending anyone out to guard you, because we don't think you can beat us -- and guess what? We're right?
Is this what happens when you let Isiah Thomas near a franchise? Everyone -- even Chris Duhon -- becomes a jerk? You're in the house of the defending champions, fellas, and the champs whipped you four times last year. You also play on a team that, despite a good start this year, has been the laughingstock of the league for the previous couplefew seasons. I'm not saying you have to genuflect, but maybe you shut up long enough to win a game.
EDIT: After I made this post, I saw this Ball Don't Lie post, which refers to this Boston.com blog post, which refers to some interesting post-game comments from Quention Richardson. Okay, Q.
[recap] [box score]
Quick hit thoughts:
-I'm the first to criticize Brian Scalabrine, so I should give him some praise when he actually plays well. Starting in place of the suspended Kevin Garnett, Scal contributed, and not just with Scal contributions like rebounds and fouls. He actually hit three jumpers, two at the end of the third quarter, and the game-icer late in the fourth. He hasn't exactly earned all the money we've given him, but it's nice to see he has a good game in him once in a while.
-The bench played great in the second quarter; so great, in fact, that unless I'm mistaken, Pierce and Rajon Rondo sat the entire period. Particularly high marks go to Leon Powe, who I think got all 14 of his points in the second, mostly against everyone's favorite backup power forward, David Lee. Eddie House actually did some point guard-type stuff, including a few nice assists on fast breaks. I believe that the bench players hit their first ten field goal attempts. It helps, of course, that the Knicks have no interest whatsoever in playing defense.
-Nice to see Kendrick Perkins play as aggressively and as well as he did. The Knicks are basically playing without a center, and for all his offensive limitations, Perkins can score over guys like Lee and Zach Randolph. He even channeled KG a few times: hitting a wide-open Rondo for an easy layup; running the pinch post play with Rondo for another easy assist; and then a three-possession stretch where he kicked it out to Pierce for a three, blocked Wilson Chandler on the other end, and then hit an eight-foot turnaround bank shot over his right shoulder on the left side of the court. Not sure where it comes from, but I'll take it whenever we can get it.
-Defense wasn't great tonight, but the Knicks did only shoot 43 percent, and they're a team that likes to push the ball and put pressure on your defense. Considering we were without our best defensive player, I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well on that end.
-Even in victory, I'm not sparing Tony Allen. Tonight's example that he simply has no feel for the game of basketball: Up 12 early in the fourth, Tony gets the ball, wide-open, 17 feet from the basket, with two seconds left on the shotclock. This isn't exactly his shot, and he's been criticized for being a little selfish this year, but this is a time where no one would complain if he put it up. Instead, he kicks it to Glen Davis, 19 feet from the basket at the other elbow, who can barely catch the ball before the shot clock expires.
You can almost see what's going through Tony's head during plays like this: "I'm open, and the shotclock is running down, but Coach told me not to take so many jumpers. Baby's open. I'll pass it to him and show everyone that I'm not selfish."
Generally speaking, good basketball players "get it." There are obviously different degrees of this, but most good basketball players at least show a modicum of savvy about the game. Tony doesn't.
-Last thing: Does everyone on the Knicks have to be a punk now? This post from the weekend mentions the Jamal Crawford-Ray Allen skirmish from last preseason. It also mentions the Crawford-Pierce double ejection last MLK Day, but that was as much Pierce's fault as it was Crawford's. But it's not just Crawford. Nate Robinson is like the quintessential guy who shows up at the playground who no one wants to play with. Always complaining about a foul, always looking for a fight. Some might say it's a short-man thing, but being of rather diminutive stature myself, I'm not going to go there. Randolph started something with Powe in the first half tonight that led to double techs. Later, Randolph had words for Pierce for no discernible reason.
Those guys have always had that edge, though. What surprised me tonight was watching Chris Duhon drain a wide-open three, then turn and say something to the Celtics bench. He hit another wide-open three later, and again was talking smack.
Hey, Chris, I know you're not very used to hitting jumpers, but there's a reason we're letting you shoot: Compared to your average NBA guard, you suck at shooting. Talk all you want; we're not sending anyone out to guard you, because we don't think you can beat us -- and guess what? We're right?
Is this what happens when you let Isiah Thomas near a franchise? Everyone -- even Chris Duhon -- becomes a jerk? You're in the house of the defending champions, fellas, and the champs whipped you four times last year. You also play on a team that, despite a good start this year, has been the laughingstock of the league for the previous couplefew seasons. I'm not saying you have to genuflect, but maybe you shut up long enough to win a game.
EDIT: After I made this post, I saw this Ball Don't Lie post, which refers to this Boston.com blog post, which refers to some interesting post-game comments from Quention Richardson. Okay, Q.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
I am not sad.
The only thing better than a night on which we kick Detroit's ass is a night on which we kick Detroit's ass while Rip Hamilton shoots 0-for-8, and then the Giants beat the Eagles in Philly. Given that I went 3-1 in fantasy football this week and I've got a case of TaB in my apartment, I'd say I'm having a good evening.
[recap] [box score]
Even fully recognizing that Detroit is still adjusting to Iverson and that Rip Hamilton's mind might be elsewhere, the Pistons are still not the kind of team you whip on their home floor, particularly when your two best players combine to go 7-for-25 and score 15 points between them. But that's exactly what the Celtics did Friday night against the Pistons at the Palace. Tony Allen scored 23 points to pick up Pierce, who was whistled for three fouls (and a tech) in the first quarter. Pierce didn't play at all in the second quarter, because we didn't need him. We outscored Detroit 30-10 in that period, turning a two-point deficit into a comfortable lead. Tony had 12 in the second, and Leon Powe had six. Hats off to Ray Allen, too, who scored 17 points. We've played two big road games thus far this year (Houston and Detroit) and Ray has come up biggest of the Big Three in both.
Doc called this one the best defensive effort of the year, and it's hard to disagree with him. The boxscore tells most of the story, but keep in mind that Detroit's final numbers are actually quite a bit better than they were for most of the game. The Pistons were 10-of-40 in the first half, and scored 29 points (our bench had 24 points by halftime).
Eddie House also hit three jumpers tonight, which means I can stop keeping track of how many games he goes without hitting more than one jumper. Hopefully this gets him going for good.
We've got Toronto Monday night in Boston (7:30 Eastern, no national TV), and the blowout tonight helps in that Pierce played just 28 minutes tonight and Garnett 33. That could be crucial, as this is just a brutal week, with Atlanta coming to town Wednesday, Denver in on Friday, and then a road date at Miwaukee Saturday night. The Raptors will be in the second night of a road back-to-back, as they beat Charlotte 89-79 Sunday afternoon behind 30 points and 15 rebounds in 43 minutes from Chris Bosh. I haven't had a chance to scout the Raps yet, but if I do, I'll post some thoughts. If not, I'll see you after the game.
[recap] [box score]
Even fully recognizing that Detroit is still adjusting to Iverson and that Rip Hamilton's mind might be elsewhere, the Pistons are still not the kind of team you whip on their home floor, particularly when your two best players combine to go 7-for-25 and score 15 points between them. But that's exactly what the Celtics did Friday night against the Pistons at the Palace. Tony Allen scored 23 points to pick up Pierce, who was whistled for three fouls (and a tech) in the first quarter. Pierce didn't play at all in the second quarter, because we didn't need him. We outscored Detroit 30-10 in that period, turning a two-point deficit into a comfortable lead. Tony had 12 in the second, and Leon Powe had six. Hats off to Ray Allen, too, who scored 17 points. We've played two big road games thus far this year (Houston and Detroit) and Ray has come up biggest of the Big Three in both.
Doc called this one the best defensive effort of the year, and it's hard to disagree with him. The boxscore tells most of the story, but keep in mind that Detroit's final numbers are actually quite a bit better than they were for most of the game. The Pistons were 10-of-40 in the first half, and scored 29 points (our bench had 24 points by halftime).
Eddie House also hit three jumpers tonight, which means I can stop keeping track of how many games he goes without hitting more than one jumper. Hopefully this gets him going for good.
We've got Toronto Monday night in Boston (7:30 Eastern, no national TV), and the blowout tonight helps in that Pierce played just 28 minutes tonight and Garnett 33. That could be crucial, as this is just a brutal week, with Atlanta coming to town Wednesday, Denver in on Friday, and then a road date at Miwaukee Saturday night. The Raptors will be in the second night of a road back-to-back, as they beat Charlotte 89-79 Sunday afternoon behind 30 points and 15 rebounds in 43 minutes from Chris Bosh. I haven't had a chance to scout the Raps yet, but if I do, I'll post some thoughts. If not, I'll see you after the game.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Boston 101, Milwaukee 89
I missed the first six-and-a-half minutes of this one, and while Boston was down 21-10 when I joined the broadcast (the first of the season for Tommy and Mike on League Pass!) and we didn't really blow this one open until the fourth quarter, it never really seemed like we were in trouble.
[recap] [box score]
-The second unit really changed the course of this one, as a 30-23 first-quarter deficit became a 55-47 halftime lead, with a lot of the work done against Milwaukee's starters. One thing that I really like about our bench is how well they get to the line. Leon Powe and Tony Allen combined to shoot 14 free throws, and while Powe had an off-night from the stripe -- he made just four of nine attempts tonight -- getting those freebies makes up for whatever limitations the two might have offensively.
-Kendrick Perkins tonight showed what close watchers of the Celtics have insisted on for a while, to much scoffing around the league: When he applies himself, Perk can be a serious defensive force. He had a career-high seven blocked shots tonight, and there was a stretch at the end of the first quarter where he disrupted three or four consecutive Milwaukee possessions. He lacks the consistency and the ability to stay out of foul trouble to be a truly elite post defender, and he may never get there, given that this is his sixth year in the league. Then again, he's only 23, so there's hope.
-Powe plays bigger guys pretty well, but we need to give him help when he's guarding guys like Andrew Bogut. Powe can play someone like Bogut perfectly and still give up buckets because Bogut is simply too tall for him.
-Milwaukee's point guards, Luke Ridnour and Ramon Sessions, were pretty awful tonight, combining for nine turnovers, many of which were live-ball and led to open-court layups. Tony Allen, Eddie House, and Rajon Rondo did a nice job shooting the gaps when those two tried to drive and kick, but the fact is that Ridnour and Sessions simply weren't drawing the defense before giving up the rock.
-House had 11 points of five-for-seven, but four of his buckets were layups in the open floor, several off the aforementioned turnovers. He still hasn't hit two jumpers in the same game this year.
-We got our first look of the season at Billy Sky. His first two touches were pretty big failures, as he drove recklessly into traffic, getting his shot blocked the first time and getting whistled for an offensive foul on the second occasion. Still, he hit a nice 15-footer from the right baseline, displaying good form and a much quicker release than I expected.
-Minute allocation for the Big Three was pretty good tonight, although Pierce still played 38 minutes as he continued his work with the second team. But Ray Allen played 31 minutes, Kevin Garnett only 30, and all three were on the bench with four minutes to go.
Next game is Sunday night at 6 p.m. Eastern in Detroit, which kicks off a ridiculous five-games-in-seven-days stretch where we face three likely Eastern conference playoff teams -- Detroit, Toronto, and Atlanta -- by Wednesday. I had planned on doing some scouting tonight, thanks to the archives on League Pass broadband -- Allen Iverson's Piston debut and the Hawks blowing out the Raps in the dirty dirty -- but I think I'm going to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, my first trip to the movies since I saw Thank You For Smoking in 2005. If time allows, I'll post some thoughts on these three upcoming opponents later in the weekend, then get ready for a tough week.
[recap] [box score]
-The second unit really changed the course of this one, as a 30-23 first-quarter deficit became a 55-47 halftime lead, with a lot of the work done against Milwaukee's starters. One thing that I really like about our bench is how well they get to the line. Leon Powe and Tony Allen combined to shoot 14 free throws, and while Powe had an off-night from the stripe -- he made just four of nine attempts tonight -- getting those freebies makes up for whatever limitations the two might have offensively.
-Kendrick Perkins tonight showed what close watchers of the Celtics have insisted on for a while, to much scoffing around the league: When he applies himself, Perk can be a serious defensive force. He had a career-high seven blocked shots tonight, and there was a stretch at the end of the first quarter where he disrupted three or four consecutive Milwaukee possessions. He lacks the consistency and the ability to stay out of foul trouble to be a truly elite post defender, and he may never get there, given that this is his sixth year in the league. Then again, he's only 23, so there's hope.
-Powe plays bigger guys pretty well, but we need to give him help when he's guarding guys like Andrew Bogut. Powe can play someone like Bogut perfectly and still give up buckets because Bogut is simply too tall for him.
-Milwaukee's point guards, Luke Ridnour and Ramon Sessions, were pretty awful tonight, combining for nine turnovers, many of which were live-ball and led to open-court layups. Tony Allen, Eddie House, and Rajon Rondo did a nice job shooting the gaps when those two tried to drive and kick, but the fact is that Ridnour and Sessions simply weren't drawing the defense before giving up the rock.
-House had 11 points of five-for-seven, but four of his buckets were layups in the open floor, several off the aforementioned turnovers. He still hasn't hit two jumpers in the same game this year.
-We got our first look of the season at Billy Sky. His first two touches were pretty big failures, as he drove recklessly into traffic, getting his shot blocked the first time and getting whistled for an offensive foul on the second occasion. Still, he hit a nice 15-footer from the right baseline, displaying good form and a much quicker release than I expected.
-Minute allocation for the Big Three was pretty good tonight, although Pierce still played 38 minutes as he continued his work with the second team. But Ray Allen played 31 minutes, Kevin Garnett only 30, and all three were on the bench with four minutes to go.
Next game is Sunday night at 6 p.m. Eastern in Detroit, which kicks off a ridiculous five-games-in-seven-days stretch where we face three likely Eastern conference playoff teams -- Detroit, Toronto, and Atlanta -- by Wednesday. I had planned on doing some scouting tonight, thanks to the archives on League Pass broadband -- Allen Iverson's Piston debut and the Hawks blowing out the Raps in the dirty dirty -- but I think I'm going to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, my first trip to the movies since I saw Thank You For Smoking in 2005. If time allows, I'll post some thoughts on these three upcoming opponents later in the weekend, then get ready for a tough week.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Boston 96, Oklahoma City 83
That's how a possible "trap" or "letdown" game should go.
[recap] [box score]
A slow start, no doubt brought on by the big win last night, mixed with the enthusiasm of an upstart team taking on the defending champs. A fourth quarter with a turnover here, a blown defensive assignment there, a few garbage-time buckets for the opponent. But in between -- in the second and third quarters -- punishing basketball that puts the game out of reach.
Good stuff all around, though nobody played spectacularly. Four starters in double figures, 11 assists for Rondo, 11 first-half points off the bench for Leon Powe, stifling defense. Just takin' care of business on a Wednesday night in the Association.
Got what I asked for from Doc tonight, too, as Pierce played with the second team. Trailing 29-21 after one, Pierce started the second with House, Tony Allen, Powe, and Glen Davis.
That fivesome went on a 17-4 run over the first five-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, and while Pierce got it going with a tough three-pointer as the shot clock wound down, the rest of the scoring came from the second-stringers: nine for Powe on a combination of layups and free throws; a Tony Allen bucket in transition; a pair at the line from House; 1 of 2 from the stripe from Davis.
Pierce, however, was the catalyst, initiating the offense on every possession. He had but one assist during the stretch, but he ran the pick and roll with Davis that sent Baby to the line; he fed Leon for what should have been an easy layup (Leon missed but got the putback); and he penetrated and created opportunities for Davis and House that those guys missed.
Pierce is more comfortable and more effective initiating the offense than Ray Allen is, and as I've said, I think it's important to take primary ball-handling duties away from Tony Allen. Tony played much more within himself tonight, and he's clearly more comfortable playing off the ball in the halfcourt.
The rub is that this meant 40 minutes for Pierce on the second night of a road back-to-back. At this point, I'm not sure we can cut any meaningful minutes from any of the Big Three, but I do think that Doc should be quicker to get them out of games that are in hand. All three of them -- in fact, all five starters -- were on the court at the final horn, despite the fact that Boston led by 15 with 4:37 to go (and OKC never got closer than 12 the rest of the way).
This was a problem last year, too. I don't know why Doc does it: If he just forgets; if he wants the starters to be able to have the feeling of finishing the job; or if some ideal of professionalism prevents him from playing the bomb squad. Whatever it is, he needs to get over it. It's tiring these guys out, someone could get hurt, and I'm just waiting for the always-competitive KG to get into a fight under two minutes with the game well in hand.
[recap] [box score]
A slow start, no doubt brought on by the big win last night, mixed with the enthusiasm of an upstart team taking on the defending champs. A fourth quarter with a turnover here, a blown defensive assignment there, a few garbage-time buckets for the opponent. But in between -- in the second and third quarters -- punishing basketball that puts the game out of reach.
Good stuff all around, though nobody played spectacularly. Four starters in double figures, 11 assists for Rondo, 11 first-half points off the bench for Leon Powe, stifling defense. Just takin' care of business on a Wednesday night in the Association.
Got what I asked for from Doc tonight, too, as Pierce played with the second team. Trailing 29-21 after one, Pierce started the second with House, Tony Allen, Powe, and Glen Davis.
That fivesome went on a 17-4 run over the first five-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, and while Pierce got it going with a tough three-pointer as the shot clock wound down, the rest of the scoring came from the second-stringers: nine for Powe on a combination of layups and free throws; a Tony Allen bucket in transition; a pair at the line from House; 1 of 2 from the stripe from Davis.
Pierce, however, was the catalyst, initiating the offense on every possession. He had but one assist during the stretch, but he ran the pick and roll with Davis that sent Baby to the line; he fed Leon for what should have been an easy layup (Leon missed but got the putback); and he penetrated and created opportunities for Davis and House that those guys missed.
Pierce is more comfortable and more effective initiating the offense than Ray Allen is, and as I've said, I think it's important to take primary ball-handling duties away from Tony Allen. Tony played much more within himself tonight, and he's clearly more comfortable playing off the ball in the halfcourt.
The rub is that this meant 40 minutes for Pierce on the second night of a road back-to-back. At this point, I'm not sure we can cut any meaningful minutes from any of the Big Three, but I do think that Doc should be quicker to get them out of games that are in hand. All three of them -- in fact, all five starters -- were on the court at the final horn, despite the fact that Boston led by 15 with 4:37 to go (and OKC never got closer than 12 the rest of the way).
This was a problem last year, too. I don't know why Doc does it: If he just forgets; if he wants the starters to be able to have the feeling of finishing the job; or if some ideal of professionalism prevents him from playing the bomb squad. Whatever it is, he needs to get over it. It's tiring these guys out, someone could get hurt, and I'm just waiting for the always-competitive KG to get into a fight under two minutes with the game well in hand.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Indiana 95, Boston 79
So, yeah, that's the last time I refer to a future opponent as a sacrificial lamb.
[recap] [box score]
Nobody expected us to win them all, but the Celtics' performance in this one put the "ugh" in "ugly." I actually didn't think we played too badly defensively (save Danny Granger's fast start and a few drives by T.J. Ford) but we were just lethargic offensively. Ray Allen didn't look interested in playing. Paul Pierce didn't assert himself -- there were a couple times he ended up with Ford on him, and rather than take him into the post, he gave it up instead. Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins combined for ... two points. Eddie House finally hit his first three pointer of the year, but he missed all nine of the other shots he took, which makes him 3-for-18 on the season.
Nights like this will happen, although hopefully not that often. But there a couple of things that concerned me that we will need to address. Both involve the bench.
-One thing Doc Rivers did a lot last year that I never understood was to play Ray Allen with the second-team. I didn't like it because it increased Ray's minutes, which we need to be careful of, and because he's the least capable of carrying the second team. He did it again against Cleveland to start off this season.
Tonight, he left the second unit to its own devices, and the results weren't good. I'm just not convinced that Tony Allen is mentally capable of being both the main scoring option and a primary ballhandler. He does one thing well, and that's get the ball on the wing, put his head down, and go to the basket. While I'm not sure Ray is the best option, either, I wouldn't mind seeing Pierce spend some time with that group, if only to see how it works out.
-I am convinced that Leon Powe can be an effective scorer with the ball in his hands, but he needs to understand who is guarding him. Powe is strong enough to score through many fours who are a couple of inches taller than. However, if he's playing center and is going against the opposing team's five, he's got to recognize that it doesn't matter how strong he is -- he's not creating enough space for himself to get a shot over a seven-footer. Powe tried to back down both Jeff Foster and Roy Hibbert tonight, and the results were predictable.
As I've said, I don't think we can go all season with Powe playing center and Glen Davis playing power forward on the second team, but that's the situation we're stuck with at the moment. When Powe is up against a seven-footer, he should step out after receiving the pass in the post and face the bucket.
Next game is Tuesday, against the Rockets. It's on NBATV, which means I don't get it and can't watch it because it's blacked out on League Pass Broadband. We're going to need to be a lot sharper if we want to avoid falling to 2-2.
[recap] [box score]
Nobody expected us to win them all, but the Celtics' performance in this one put the "ugh" in "ugly." I actually didn't think we played too badly defensively (save Danny Granger's fast start and a few drives by T.J. Ford) but we were just lethargic offensively. Ray Allen didn't look interested in playing. Paul Pierce didn't assert himself -- there were a couple times he ended up with Ford on him, and rather than take him into the post, he gave it up instead. Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins combined for ... two points. Eddie House finally hit his first three pointer of the year, but he missed all nine of the other shots he took, which makes him 3-for-18 on the season.
Nights like this will happen, although hopefully not that often. But there a couple of things that concerned me that we will need to address. Both involve the bench.
-One thing Doc Rivers did a lot last year that I never understood was to play Ray Allen with the second-team. I didn't like it because it increased Ray's minutes, which we need to be careful of, and because he's the least capable of carrying the second team. He did it again against Cleveland to start off this season.
Tonight, he left the second unit to its own devices, and the results weren't good. I'm just not convinced that Tony Allen is mentally capable of being both the main scoring option and a primary ballhandler. He does one thing well, and that's get the ball on the wing, put his head down, and go to the basket. While I'm not sure Ray is the best option, either, I wouldn't mind seeing Pierce spend some time with that group, if only to see how it works out.
-I am convinced that Leon Powe can be an effective scorer with the ball in his hands, but he needs to understand who is guarding him. Powe is strong enough to score through many fours who are a couple of inches taller than. However, if he's playing center and is going against the opposing team's five, he's got to recognize that it doesn't matter how strong he is -- he's not creating enough space for himself to get a shot over a seven-footer. Powe tried to back down both Jeff Foster and Roy Hibbert tonight, and the results were predictable.
As I've said, I don't think we can go all season with Powe playing center and Glen Davis playing power forward on the second team, but that's the situation we're stuck with at the moment. When Powe is up against a seven-footer, he should step out after receiving the pass in the post and face the bucket.
Next game is Tuesday, against the Rockets. It's on NBATV, which means I don't get it and can't watch it because it's blacked out on League Pass Broadband. We're going to need to be a lot sharper if we want to avoid falling to 2-2.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Boston 96, Chicago 80
Not much to say about this one, as the Celtics put forth an impressive defensive effort in improving to 2-0. Chicago shot 29.8% from the field for the game. 'Nuff said.
[recap] [boxscore]
That being the case, I'll make a couple quick macro points, say something about the Bulls, and check out perhaps a little more briefly than usual. Or not.
-Tony Allen is my least favorite Celtic, in large part because I just don't think he understands the game of basketball very well. Tonight's exhibit: The chucking he did with the game well in hand. I think he took shots on three straight possessions at one point, with the crowd screaming to get the ball to Brian Scalabrine and with Gabe Pruitt and Patrick O'Bryant in the game. Tony is already a part of the rotation; he doesn't need to show his scoring ability (not that he did tonight, anyway, going 1-for-8). Get the other guys involved. Even Pruitt, who is trying to show that he deserves a spot in the rotation, deferred to Scal. I'm not saying that we desperately need to get Scalabrine a bucket, but Tony should know to play unselfishly with the bomb squad in the game.
-ESPN announcers Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy made a huge deal of how into the game Boston's starters were in the last few minutes. I didn't really understand that; watching the scrubs close out a win is one of the most enjoyable parts of being a star. And they shouldn't have been surprised, either; the Cs stars did it all last year, too. And because it will give me an excuse to post my favorite YouTube link (which I've posted here before, and which I'll surely post again), they did it this preseason, as well (check the bench).
-O'Bryant needs to work his way into the rotation, or we need to find someone else to play backup center. I like Powe, and I like Glen Davis, but those guys are both undersized fours. Playing one of them at five with the other at four is just too small. And I hope that the Scalabrine-Powe-Davis frontcourt that Doc put out in the second quarter was some sort of Halloween trick-or-treat stunt.
-I realize that it's only two games into his coaching career, but have no idea what Vinnie Del Negro is doing. Three of his four best players are guards, and yet only one of them is starting. Meanwhile, he's starting two power forwards (Tyrus Thomas and Drew Gooden), and at one point in tonight's game, subbed them both out for two centers (Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray) who are limited offensively. Del Negro may not yet know what his best lineup is -- Jackson was saying it's the three-guard lineup, which I don't think Chicago has even played yet this year -- but of all the possible combos, he's played some of the worst.
[recap] [boxscore]
That being the case, I'll make a couple quick macro points, say something about the Bulls, and check out perhaps a little more briefly than usual. Or not.
-Tony Allen is my least favorite Celtic, in large part because I just don't think he understands the game of basketball very well. Tonight's exhibit: The chucking he did with the game well in hand. I think he took shots on three straight possessions at one point, with the crowd screaming to get the ball to Brian Scalabrine and with Gabe Pruitt and Patrick O'Bryant in the game. Tony is already a part of the rotation; he doesn't need to show his scoring ability (not that he did tonight, anyway, going 1-for-8). Get the other guys involved. Even Pruitt, who is trying to show that he deserves a spot in the rotation, deferred to Scal. I'm not saying that we desperately need to get Scalabrine a bucket, but Tony should know to play unselfishly with the bomb squad in the game.
-ESPN announcers Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy made a huge deal of how into the game Boston's starters were in the last few minutes. I didn't really understand that; watching the scrubs close out a win is one of the most enjoyable parts of being a star. And they shouldn't have been surprised, either; the Cs stars did it all last year, too. And because it will give me an excuse to post my favorite YouTube link (which I've posted here before, and which I'll surely post again), they did it this preseason, as well (check the bench).
-O'Bryant needs to work his way into the rotation, or we need to find someone else to play backup center. I like Powe, and I like Glen Davis, but those guys are both undersized fours. Playing one of them at five with the other at four is just too small. And I hope that the Scalabrine-Powe-Davis frontcourt that Doc put out in the second quarter was some sort of Halloween trick-or-treat stunt.
-I realize that it's only two games into his coaching career, but have no idea what Vinnie Del Negro is doing. Three of his four best players are guards, and yet only one of them is starting. Meanwhile, he's starting two power forwards (Tyrus Thomas and Drew Gooden), and at one point in tonight's game, subbed them both out for two centers (Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray) who are limited offensively. Del Negro may not yet know what his best lineup is -- Jackson was saying it's the three-guard lineup, which I don't think Chicago has even played yet this year -- but of all the possible combos, he's played some of the worst.
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